In photos: Boeing's Starliner Orbital Test Flight 2 mission to the International Space Station
Editor's note: NASA and Boeing have decided to stand down from backup launch attempts on both Tuesday and Wednesday as officials investigate a valve issue on the Starliner spacecraft. The Altas V rocket is scheduled to roll back from the launch site to the Vertical Integration Facility on Wednesday morning. The next available launch window has not yet been announced.
Boeing will launch its Starliner spacecraft on its second uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station on Tuesday (Aug. 3), at 1:20 p.m. EDT (1720 GMT).
The Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2 mission) will spend about one week at the International Space Station before returning to Earth with a parachute-assisted landing in New Mexico. If all goes according to plan, Boeing will soon begin launching astronauts to the orbiting lab for NASA with the new spacecraft.
See photos of the Starliner OFT-2 mission here!
Live updates: Follow Boeing's Starliner OFT-2 mission here
Related: Everything you need to know about Boeing's Starliner OFT-2 mission
Starliner will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, lifting off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
NASA and Boeing had to delay OFT-2 launch window from July 30 to Aug. 3, following an incident with a Russian module that had arrived at the space station on the morning of Starliner's launch. After the delay, the Atlas V and Starliner rolled back to the Vertical Integration Facility from the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 to avoid inclement weather until the next launch date.
This aerial photo of Space Launch Complex 41, taken July 29, shows the Atlas V rocket and Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on the launch pad before they rolled back to the Vertical Integration Facility.
Full story: Boeing's Starliner capsule rolls away from pad after launch delay (photos)
The launch of Boeing's Starliner Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2) mission may be visible to spectators along the eastern seaboard of the United States, weather and daylight permitting. This visibility map shows where the rocket will be visible for about five minutes after liftoff.
A closeup view of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 on July 29, 2021.
The Atlas V rocket with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft onboard is seen on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, on July 29, 2021.
The Atlas V rocket stands ready to receive Boeing's Starliner at the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, on July 17, 2021.
The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is secured atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, on July 17, 2021.
Boeing's Starliner CST-100 capsule is mounted on top of the Atlas V rocket ahead of its second uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station.
Boeing's Starliner for the OFT-2 mission is pictured inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41, on July 28, 2021.
An anthropomorphic test device or flight dummy nicknamed Rosie the Rocketeer appears strapped into a seat in Boeing's Starliner capsule before the vehicle's second uncrewed flight test.
NASA astronauts Nicole Mann (left) and Mike Fincke (center) and Boeing astronaut Chris Ferguson (right) pose for a photo on Sept. 11, 2019, as they rehearse landing and crew extraction from Boeing's CST-100 Starliner.
As part of the Flight Readiness Review for Boeing's uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2), NASA astronauts for Boeing's Crew Flight Test (CFT), Commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore, Pilot Nicole Mann, and Joint Ops Commander E. Michael "Mike" Fincke address NASA and Boeing managers in Operations Support Building 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on July 22, 2021.
The Flight Readiness Review for Boeing’s Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2) mission was held at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 22, 2021.
Boeing's Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) mission patch represents the team dedicated to making the 2021 launch a success.
A Boeing technician holds a package of CST-100 Starliner Orbital Flight Test 2 patches to be flown on board the mission.
Boeing's Starliner flight test patches: Pad Abort Test, 2019; Orbital Flight Test (OFT), 2019; Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2), March 2021; and Crewed Flight Test (CFT), summer 2021.
Boeing's Orbital Flight Test 2 Mission Operations patch represents the NASA flight controllers who will oversee the mission.
Boeing technicians load a package of mementos aboard the Orbital Flight Test 2 Starliner capsule in preparation for its launch.
Flags and banners for historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) await being packed for the second orbital flight test of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, slated for July 30.
Rosie the Riveter commemorative coins are prepared for their flight on the second orbital flight test of Boeing's Starliner.
The fully assembled Starliner spacecraft being prepared to fly Boeing's Orbital Flight Test-2 is lifted inside the Starliner production factory at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Jan. 13, 2021.
This graphic details ascent operations for NASA’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2).
This graphic details docking operations for NASA’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2).
This graphic details undocking operations for NASA’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2).
This graphic details landing operations for NASA’s Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2).
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